The Alpha was close to the woods with his Beta who was now walking dutifully behind him, cracking jokes to lighten the latter's mood. An Alpha's job wasn't all glory behind the scenes. Many times, the Alpha stayed late into the night handling paperwork. He'd tell the Beta to go to his worried family and continue all by himself. When he was serious, he was a workaholic. The more stressed one is in human form, the more their wolf side would fight to come out for a run in the woods and the Alpha had abstained from shifting for heavens know how long. Before he started trying to gain some form of entertainment, even at other's expense, it meant he was losing it.If he didn't get to run today, heads could roll the next day."At least, a fake laugh for all my efforts, I would appreciate that," said the Beta as he overtook his ruler and stood in his path."We're not here for a comedy show. Plus, you are bad at humour. I'm this close to shifting right now. A part of me is wishing to charge in
Luna Katelyn's heart pounded as she raced back in the direction of her residence in shock and horror at what she had just done. Her eyes kept darting around with fear, scared of seeing her husband, but she forced herself to keep running.She could see that people were staring at her, their expressions shifting from surprise to confusion, then to alarm at what they were seeing but she didn't care."Is that the Luna?" someone murmured behind her."Why's she running like that?" another voice echoed."What's happening?"She heard the whispers and the shocked gasps as she bolted past them, but she couldn't give a damn about that now, not after what she had just done.'How could I let myself do that? Why hadn't I controlled my damn temper!" Her thoughts spun wildly, her mind caught between anger at herself and sheer terror.The Alpha would know what she did, there was no doubt about it.She'd only remembered their connection a few seconds after she'd laid hands on Bellatrix, but it was alrea
Bellatrix lay on a red divan in the lounging area, by the orders of her mate of course. Even though this area was meant to be somewhat accessible to the public, at this moment, she was the only individual present aside from the employees. It was still the evening after Luna Katelyn's attack. Luckily for Bellatrix, she had come out of it mostly unharmed but the pack doctor had come to her residence to tend to her. She was about to doze off when she heard a knock. On opening the door, she found it was one of the Alpha's personal guards who had come to inform her that the Alpha wanted her at the Royal lounge. She wanted to decline but thought against it. She reasoned that the Alpha must be feeling a lot of emotions. She knew he didn't love her even though she was his mate. The one he loved was Katelyn but now the latter had messed up badly. Now the one he didn't love was the victim and the one he loved was in prison. She had heard some pack members whisper about the Luna's imprisonment
5:38 am.~~~The fact that she seemed to be in a favoured situation and had someone dependable to look after her needs did mean the Alpha allowed her to be at ease. A couple of days prior, the Alpha had dispatched a woman of Psi lineage to drop off a sizable merlot-coloured box at the front of her home during the evening hours.With Xoey's assistance, she brought the box indoors, and upon opening it, they found hefty books embellished with intricate black vines intertwined with one another. There were about seventeen of these books with such vines acting as locks. She had been instructed (according to the accompanying note) to commence with a certain locked book that featured a lustrous golden brown cover and also devoid of a title, without assistance from anyone.Xoey simply helped to arrange the books on the new shelf that had been delivered a week before.Today was the first day of her reading the book.She had spent hours trying to find the perfect way to unlock the vines yester
Some minutes later, Xoey came to the training grounds but unfortunately wasn't allowed entry. Undeterred, she kept yelling her mistress' name desperately, successfully getting the latter's attention. Bellatrix placed her half-finished bottle of water on the bench and ran towards the entrance, ignoring the two stern-looking guards stationed on each side of the black double bar gates."Breeder Bellatrix, you're not allowed to leave, nor is your maid allowed entry. No rules will be broken just because the Alpha let you train here," one of them, the jacked one on her right, a little taller than she was with a beard and moustache warned. The one on her left, although silent seemed to be of one mind with his fellow."I know that," Bellatrix said with a small smile. She and her maid were separated by the gate. "I brought you some cookies, My Lady," Xoey said excitedly."The breeder's already eaten," the tallest of the two guards spoke for the first time, drawing the ladies' attention."Th
Alpha Killian sat in the dimly lit prison, dressed fully in white as if he was the angel of light. His unreadable gave, however, was fixed on the dark cell opposite him.Despite the poor and depressing condition of this place, the alpha was sitting on an exquisitely crafted chair, arms on the armrest. The memory of his Luna's brutal attack on Bellatrix hadn't faded from his mind. Just recalling the fact that Katelyn endangered his mate despite knowing their bond made his face finally show some emotion. Not a good one though.If the present guards standing some distance away from him in all directions, hands clasped behind their backs, felt uneasy with his sudden visit, then now they'd become quite afraid. His aura was suffocating. They knew the reason he was angry and he had a right to be so. But still, they were innocent souls here, the Alpha ought to withdraw his aura before all the oxygen in the area flee for good. One of the guards couldn't bear it and directly knelt and ultim
Katelyn froze, his words sinking in with horrifying clarity. The implications were clear: he was considering removing her as Luna. The title she'd fought so hard to hold, the power and respect she had gained, all of it was hanging by a fragile thread.She tried to muster any remaining strength, but her exhaustion was overwhelming. Her voice broke as she whispered, "Please... don't take this away from me."Killian's face remained cold, unreadable. "You almost took something precious from me, Katelyn. You almost killed my mate and my chance of having a child, the one person I swore to protect above all else. Tell me, why should I show you any mercy?"Katelyn's eyes widened as she felt a crushing despair close in. She wanted to scream, to beg, but the weight of his anger was suffocating. Finally, she managed to croak, "What... what are you going to do to me?"Killian looked at her with a steely gaze, unyielding. "That will be decided in due time. Or perhaps I should let you go back insid
A boy of around six years pouted his lips and distanced himself from his elder sibling, who had just lightly slapped the back of his head because he interfered with his phone conversation. “Stay close,” the elder brother who had chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes, instructed.But the little boy defiantly crossed his arms before his chest, looking away with a harrumph. At that, the teenage elder brother couldn’t be bothered to scold him again as he continued conversing with the recipient. "What the... who's that? So ugly!" the lad suddenly exclaimed in disgust, unfolding his little arms."Alright, I'll ring you later," his brother stated finally, putting his phone back into the front left side of his pants. "What is it, Valio?" “Look!” the latter pointed westward and the teen gazed in that direction as well. His brows furrowed after seeing what his younger brother wanted to draw his attention to."What the blazes...!" Harold couldn't help muttering as he saw a female with unkempt h
Moon Flame PackAlpha's office.^ ^ ^Seated in his dark grey swivel chair was Alpha Anslan. He was clad in a white shirt with short sleeves featuring dark landscape patterns on one side, paired with black trousers. With his muscly arms propped on the desk, he raked his fingers through his curly brown hair, exhaling a deep sigh.He was finding it difficult to focus on his work for the nth time. Resting on his fancy wooden desk was a laptop with its lid raised. Its open screen displayed a paused video on a news website. There was also a neat stack of files encased in transparent folders waiting for his attention; these had been delivered by his Beta, Lorencio Fielder, during the morning hours.However, to his left, adjacent to the desk and on the cherry wood flooring, lay an additional 3 bigger stacks of documents.Just the sight of them made him want to tug at his hair and yell out his frustration. Although that was unbefitting of an Alpha.Feeling his irritation climbing new peaks w
“Why’re you dallying?” the Alpha’s voice startled Bellatrix, who was about to give in to the temptation of downing one first.“S-sorry, sir. I-I’ll bring it over right now,” she hurriedly said, gently shutting the fridge’s door after she had taken a bottle of water. Then, holding it with both hands, like it was a sacred artefact, she made a beeline for her mate’s desk. “Here, sir,” she meekly said upon reaching her destination.He tapped the space beside him on the desk, “Place it here, then, fetch me a glass,” he ordered.She obeyed after setting the plastic bottle upright on the desk. Upon her return with the spotless glass, she took the initiative to unscrew the cap of the bottle and proceeded to fill the glass past the halfway mark, all without any prompting.“Alright, you can go get some water,” the Alpha said, “…only if you’re sure you can hold your pee quite well.”The first part of his words almost made her jump up for joy. She was damn thirsty, even more now. But the latter p
9:25 am,The pack’s woodshed… Luna Katelyn was seated with her legs spread apart on the provided tree stump, huffing and puffing. Her shoulders were slumped, and her elbows were resting on her thighs. The maul was upturned, and its wooden handle leaned against her left thigh. Her previously loose grey outfit now clung to her body due to perspiration. Not far from her was her temporary mistress, Xoey, clad in a pink floral, knee-length dress and perched on a collapsible chair. The latter had her left leg draped over the other. “Hurry up, Luna. There are still more logs to go,” she called out. Xoey had earlier instructed that she take out ten logs from each of the three huge mounds of logs. That meant Katelyn had to split twenty oak logs and ten beech logs as well. She was to start with the former. She had only split one thick oak log into the desirable bits and size, but she was already this tired. The Luna had never done such menial work in all her life.She hailed from a noble fa
The next morning,8:29.°°°Standing on the veranda, close to the entrance of the Alpha's office, was Bellatrix. Her dark hair was swept up in a side-braided ponytail, and she was wearing a V-neck grey tunic top paired with black leggings.With her hands intertwined before her, her lips tightly pressed together, and her eyes failing to conceal her anxiety, she appeared visibly tense. Xoey had accompanied her here upon her request, but she didn’t stay long, claiming she had to oversee the Luna's performance in the woodshed.The artfully made wooden entrance door was left a fraction open. However, Bellatrix was unwilling to cross the threshold without permission.The Alpha had told her that day at the training grounds that he would be the one to handle her training. From the Beta's reaction, she knew it wouldn't be a cakewalk; her mate wouldn't be lenient or biased towards her just because of the mate bond they shared.And though she was worried, she knew there was no way to back out. H
The next day...General maids' quarters.This fairly large single-story building had several rooms separated by a long and spacious hallway.Residing here were those who weren't assigned to a particular household. They were headed by the chief maid, Onyx Ingwald, who would assign them daily tasks. However, she had no control over those bound to certain households in the pack, nor could she punish them if they committed a wrong. The most she would do was make a complaint about them to their master whenever there was an opportunity.The few ones with unchanged roles, though, served in the pack's kitchen.In the backyard of this structure was an ideal spot for laundry. Katelyn, now all cleaned up, was perched on a wooden stool and washing clothes by hand.Her silver tresses were swept up in a messy bun, and her plain and loose-fitting black gown had been dampened by her perspiration.She dunked the garment she had just laundered into the water in the adjacent basin and then used the hem
Katelyn felt as if she had been leaping for an unending stretch of time. With the crowd's varied gazes on her, unwilling as she was, she had to steel herself and carry on.Bellatrix had told her that she could only stop after returning to the shelter enough times.She had lost count of how many times she had leaped to the gate. Worse, the onlookers, who were initially helping her count, were now focused on discussing among themselves while pointing at her.In the past, if anyone were caught gossiping about her, she would have thrown them into the dungeon to languish in sorrow, if possible, for the rest of their fucking miserable lives.But now…It was hateful. Downright detestable!Each time she leaped towards the shelter's entrance, she would be forced to witness her enemy munching away, a packet of snacks resting on her thigh, legs folded, with a relaxed look on her face.She so much wanted to stop what she was doing and just charge at that haughty weakling, scratch at her ugly face
"Bellatrix! Breeder Bellatrix!" the scruffy-haired female yelled as she dashed frenziedly towards the shelter. One of the guards chasing overtook her, but she tried to sidestep him. However, when he grabbed her arm, she became enraged and shoved him to the floor, leaving a few slashes of her claws on his shoulders before resuming her sprint.The second guard saw his fellow overpowered by their target, but he didn’t stop to check on the latter since it was just surface injuries. He chased after her and ultimately tugged her hair from behind just as she was trying to evade him.This prompted her to halt in her tracks due to the discomfort from his actions.“I’ve got you now,” he told her, and she started struggling to go forward, but he still wasn’t intent on letting go of her hair.“Let me go!” she shrieked.The guard shook his head, “Not happening. I can’t let you hurt the Breeder,”“You…” frustrated, Katelyn used her claws to cut her hair, quickly freeing herself from the shocked gu
A boy of around six years pouted his lips and distanced himself from his elder sibling, who had just lightly slapped the back of his head because he interfered with his phone conversation. “Stay close,” the elder brother who had chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes, instructed.But the little boy defiantly crossed his arms before his chest, looking away with a harrumph. At that, the teenage elder brother couldn’t be bothered to scold him again as he continued conversing with the recipient. "What the... who's that? So ugly!" the lad suddenly exclaimed in disgust, unfolding his little arms."Alright, I'll ring you later," his brother stated finally, putting his phone back into the front left side of his pants. "What is it, Valio?" “Look!” the latter pointed westward and the teen gazed in that direction as well. His brows furrowed after seeing what his younger brother wanted to draw his attention to."What the blazes...!" Harold couldn't help muttering as he saw a female with unkempt h
Katelyn froze, his words sinking in with horrifying clarity. The implications were clear: he was considering removing her as Luna. The title she'd fought so hard to hold, the power and respect she had gained, all of it was hanging by a fragile thread.She tried to muster any remaining strength, but her exhaustion was overwhelming. Her voice broke as she whispered, "Please... don't take this away from me."Killian's face remained cold, unreadable. "You almost took something precious from me, Katelyn. You almost killed my mate and my chance of having a child, the one person I swore to protect above all else. Tell me, why should I show you any mercy?"Katelyn's eyes widened as she felt a crushing despair close in. She wanted to scream, to beg, but the weight of his anger was suffocating. Finally, she managed to croak, "What... what are you going to do to me?"Killian looked at her with a steely gaze, unyielding. "That will be decided in due time. Or perhaps I should let you go back insid